Friday, March 6, 2015 Reflections

Ouch, that had to really hurt the rest of the sons/brothers of Joseph. It was definitely a recipe for trouble to say the least. As a result of this taking emphatic favor of one son over the others, his brothers became extremely jealous and Joseph didn’t make things better by sharing his dreams that only reinforced his special status. So, it’s no wonder that their jealousy only led them to consider killing him.

This is a good story to have in the Bible because it shows all of us that no matter what, God can take extreme jealousy, pride and even family dysfunction and bring something good out of all of it. Whether it’s resentment, lies, murderous thoughts, bitterness, it’s no problem for God, He can redeem it all and then use it to bring about His plan. After all, just take a look at what He did for Joseph and his entire family. From the slavery of Joseph in Egypt that his brothers had a big part in, through his imprisonment, Joseph was still able through the grace of God, save his family from famine and then reconcile with his brothers in the end.

So, if things seem to be at their darkest in our lives, we need not despair, especially if it happens to be family issues. After all, no one is perfect. And yes, we can’t deny that sin is corrosive and it can devastate a relationship and it can deeply wound other people, it will never have the last word when God is involved, because He and only He has the final word. Even when we can see how things will work out, even when the pain seems to real to handle, we can still trust in God and that He will go over and beyond. Take a look at Joseph all of those years bound in slavery and in prison and the whole time he learned to wait for God’s plan to fully bloom.

We need to be careful that we don’t lose our perspective on things when we might be going through rough times. Just like Joseph learned that God would faithfully work everything out for good if he just stayed true to Him. This is what the Holy Spirit wants each of us to learn. We need to be patient and realize that God can see where things are heading in our lives and how they are going to work out, even if none of it makes any sense to us at the time. We just need to trust Him to love us each and every step of the journey as it leads us into the fullness of life that He has in store for each of us.

We need to keep these truths in the front of our minds at all times, but especially during our toughest times. We need to proclaim them to ourselves often and then allow Jesus to fill us with hope and trust in Him and only Him. He has us and our families in the palm of His hands!

“Lord, I trust you with my family. I believe you can do great things with us. May we bring glory to you!”

Consider Reading:

Psalm 105:16-21

Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Prayer

Lord help us to hang onto You even in the darkest storms of our lives. Even when we can’t see or understand that Your plan for us will rise far above the pain that we feel.

Help us to have the patience and faith that Joseph had while enslaved and let us see that our own personal enslavement cannot withstand Your love and grace.

Teach us to see You will work all things for good and trust in Your Son to help see us through.